


Angus McDonald: Boy Detective

by isa_belle



Series: Taz Balance [3]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Just a boy solving mysteries on the moon, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Shovel Talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isa_belle/pseuds/isa_belle
Summary: "He walks into the cafeteria, nose buried in his book, carefully stepping around things he could trip over. He's been at the BoB long enough to know how to navigate without looking at this point, but when he does look up, nothing he sees is what he expects.What Angus McDonald expects to see is Bureau employees sitting at tables, chatting idly, enjoying meals, and such.What he doesn’t expect to see is distressed and crying staff members, curled over in the fetal position, and one, Magnus Burnsides, hero of folk legend, recoverer of many a grand relic, drinking something out of his boot."or, Angus McDonald deserves all the love so I've decided to give it to him. Basically just one-shots about everyone's favorite boy detective, taking place during and after canon, in no particular order.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Everyone, Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Carey Fangbattle/Killian, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Lup & Angus McDonald, Magnus Burnsides & Angus McDonald, The Director | Lucretia & Angus McDonald
Series: Taz Balance [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068122
Comments: 24
Kudos: 67





	1. Angus McDonald and the (not so) Curious Case of the Missing Glasses

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this was really fun for me to write and i hope you like it :)

Angus McDonald wakes to the light of the sun shining onto the moon. It pours in through the window, illuminating his bed, his desk, the books scattered throughout the room, and the dust particles sitting still in the air. He lifts his head slowly from where it rests on his arms and he groans as his neck pops. He fell asleep at his desk again last night, book in one hand, pen in the other. The seal of the Bureau on his bracer is etched into the skin of his cheek from where his head laid for the night. He rubs his face with the heal of his palm, trying to wipe the pattern from his skin but he figures the effort is fruitless. The mark will go away sooner or later.  
Angus blinks slowly, adjusts his glasses where they sit on his nose, pulls them off, and wipes away the smudges. And he stands and walks over to the bathroom to get ready for the day, brushing his teeth, changing his clothes, and slipping on a pair of shoes. Then he picks a book off his desk and strides out the door to get breakfast, shutting it carefully behind him.   
He walks into the cafeteria, nose buried in his book, carefully stepping around things he could trip over. He's been at the BoB long enough to know how to navigate without looking at this point, but when he does look up, nothing he sees is what he expects.  
What Angus McDonald expects to see is Bureau employees sitting at tables, chatting idly, enjoying meals, and such.  
What he doesn’t expect to see is distressed and crying staff members, curled over in the fetal position, and one, Magnus Burnsides, hero of folk legend, recoverer of many a grand relic, drinking _something_ out of his boot.  
Angus quickens his pace.  
“Hello, sirs,” he says as he reaches the table where the three reclaimers sit. As soon as he approaches, Merle becomes very suddenly but very intently focused on the face of the table. Taako gives him a nod as soon as he sees him, legs crossed, sipping out of a vase from the Chug 'N Squeeze.   
“‘Sup Ango, how’s it kickin my man?”  
“Great, sir, thank you for asking! Um, can I ask _you_ something?"  
"Go for it, little dude."  
Angus pushes his glasses up on his nose and looks at Magnus, boot raised to his lips, and winces. "Why are you drinking out of so many random things?"  
"Oh, that one's easy," Taako says, setting the vase down on the table, "someone stole all of the glasses from the kitchen, so me and the tres horny boys here decided to get creative."   
He takes another swig of vase juice.  
Angus isn't quite sure what to say to that.  
"Yeah," Magnus pipes up, "Want a sip, Ango?" He holds out his boot and Angus can see liquid sloshing around inside. He takes a step back, fight or flight response kicking right in, before he remembers his manners.  
He clears his throat, "um, no thank you, sir."  
Magnus shrugs, "suit yourself."  
Angus turns back to Taako, eyebrows raised, curiosity peaked, he does love a good mystery, "who stole all the glasses?"  
Taako smiles, lightly, "no clue, kiddo, isn't that your job?'  
Angus considers this. It is his job, he _is_ the world's greatest detective, after all. He smiles back at Taako, "yes, sir, it is!"  
He turns on his heel and begins to head towards the distressed staff members, figuring that's the best way to start to collect information. He starts to compile a list of the most obvious suspects in his mind but both his train of thought and stride are broken when Taako grabs him by the shirt collar and pulls him back.   
"Woah, woah, woah, wait just a minute Ango," he spins him around and meets his eyes, "Eat some breakfast before you go all Hardy Boys on this thing, you can't go around detecting on an empty stomach."  
Angus nods gratefully, and he feels something warm in the pit of his stomach at the affection in Taako's voice, "'that is true, sir."  
Taako reaches out a hand and offers him an apple. Angus accepts with a toothy grin that only gets wider when he walks away and hears Merle murmur "sap" behind him and Taako respond with a huff and a "shut up."

* * *

When Angus reaches the Beaureu staff members who are collapsed in apparent defeat, they don't even look up at him. He pauses for a brief moment, then clears his throat.  
"Excuse me?"   
Someone groans, and sits up-a half-elf that Angus doesn't recognize. She brushes her hair out of her face and looks at him with two tired, gray eyes. Her voice is soft but the tone is wrecked as she spits out, "what do you want?" like she hasn't slept in a hundred years.   
Angus shifts his weight from foot to foot, bouncing as he goes, book pulled tight to his chest. "I was just wondering if you guys were alright?"  
Angus is perfectly aware of how _not_ alright they all look, but he figures he may get points for courtesy. The half-elf blinks slowly, letting her eyes fall shut and stay that way for a beat longer than normal before opening them again. "What the fuck does it look like?"  
_Well_ , he tried. He pulls a notebook from his pocket and a pen from behind his ear, "What happened here, ma'am?"  
"I'll tell you what fucking happened, someone stole every glass we've got, and those _idiots_ -" she gestures towards Taako, Magnus, and Merle with a thumb, "-are killing us." She drops her voice to a whisper, "this morning I saw the elf pour orange juice straight into his pocket and drink it with a straw," she shudders.  
"Well," Angus says, "it all tastes like key lime gogurt to him, ma'am."  
She blinks again, "look, I don't even want to begin to unpack that. You're the detective kid, right? Agnes McElroy or whatever?"  
"Angus McDonald, ma'am, that's me," he sticks out his hand to shake hers but she leaves it in the air, instead reaching out and seizing him by the shoulders, the weary look in her eyes turning frantic, her grip strong and she shakes his tiny boy body, "Please, please, find who did this, end our suffering. Agno McDaniels, you're our last hope." Then she looks back at the reclaimers, and Merle downs a big swish of bowl fluid and her face crumples. She sits back on the ground and returns to the fetal position, leaving Angus with a mission. He's got a mystery to solve.

* * *

Angus McDonald would like to say that he solved a difficult mystery, one for the ages, to sit right up next to Caleb Cleaveland, Kid Cop. But in reality, he thought for one minute about who in their right mind would and could steal a bunch of glasses from the cafeteria and he found only one suspect.  
Now, many people at the BoB were willing and known to pull pranks, on scales larger and smaller than the glass fiasco. But Angus knew only one who could pull off a scheme like this, only one who had not only the skill but the drive and desire to steal, with the reward being chaos and nothing but. A rogue, of course, with a need for entertainment. Training did get boring after a while.   
That's how he finds himself standing in front of the room belonging to one Dragonborn rogue, Carey Fangbattle (and her girlfriend Killian.) He raises his fist to the door, raps his knuckles against it in a light knock, and waits for it to swing open. When it does, it reveals the looming form of Killian, arms crossed, looking straight over his head. He clears his throat and she glances down, smirking a little when her eyes finally land on him.  
“Hello, ma’am," he says, as politely as possible, "Is Ms. Car-“  
Killian cuts him off before the words are out of his mouth. “She’s hiding.”  
He blinks, “pardon?”  
“She’s hiding.” She repeats, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “She knew it was only a matter of time before you figured her out so she ran off.”  
Angus studies Killian’s face carefully as she speaks, noticing the way her smirk only grows as the longer she talks. He squints his eyes.  
“You know where she is.” He deduces.  
“Clever kid.” She smiles at him fondly, glances through the door then back at him, “I’ll never tell.”  
Angus smiles too, the big grin reserved for mystery solving. “That I am, ma’am,” then he ducks under Killian’s legs and runs into the room.  
“Ms. Carey!” He yells, scanning the room as Killian chases behind him, shouting after him, giggling wildly and swatting at his heels. “Ms. Carey, I know you’re in here! Your girlfriend is a good liar, but-“ he shouts, throwing a cushion off the couch, “-but I’m the world’s greatest _oof!_ ”  
Angus yelps as he’s lifted off the ground like a rag doll, arms going limp, notebook dropping to the floor with a thud. Killian managed to wrap an arm around Angus’ waist and hoist him up high. A squeak escapes his lips as he grabs at the arms around him and tries to squeeze out of her grip.  
“Ms. Killian, please." he says seriously, "It’s my duty to capture the culprit of the glass theft mystery, the cooking staff is relying on me,” he huffs, “I’m their last hope, Mr. Taako drank orange juice out of his pocket!”  
Killian swings him around in a big circle, and he squeals, flapping his hands.  
And that’s when he sees it. For barely a second, a flash of blue, from a door to behind the couch, a blur of color moving almost too fast. _Almost_. But Angus McDonald is the master of noticing things that shouldn't be noticeable.  
Angus wriggles out of Killian’s grasp and falls to the ground. He pulls himself to his feet as quickly as he can, heart racing in his ears, then he takes off sprinting towards the couch, leaping over the back and landing right on Carey Fangbattle’s shrieking form.  
He lands on her chest and stays there. She gives him a smug smile.  
“Hey, Ango.”  
She says it casually, and she sounds very pleased with herself. Angus takes a moment to catch his breath, wheezing while he gathers his thoughts.  
“How have you done this?” He demands, pointing a finger at Carey’s grinning face, “no, actually, _why_ have you done this?”  
Carey shrugs, “I dunno, I’m a kickass rogue and the moon is boring.”  
Angus figures that’s a fair point. He lets himself breathe for another moment, then he stands up and wipes off his pants, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes. He offers Carey a hand to pull her onto her feet too, but Carey just hops up with minimal effort, team sweet flips style. Angus stares at Carey with a serious look set on his little boy features.  
“Magnus was drinking out of his boot, ma’am, please return the glasses.”  
Carey gapes at him for a second, yellow eyes wide and cloudy.  
“Magnus what?” She stammers, “I-“  
Then she starts laughing, doubled over, clutching her stomach, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.  
She reaches out and ruffles Angus’ hair, and the boy has to fight a smile. This is serious detective work, after all, and he has an image to maintain.  
“God, Angus,” she breathes, after a moment, “that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while," she says, "but there’s no way in hell I’m telling you where the glasses are”  
Angus frowns, trying not to pout. Detective work is harder than people give him credit for. “Why not?”  
“Taako drank out of his pocket," she looks thrilled, "I’m not sacrificing something like that. It’s too valuable.”  
And _that_ makes Angus’ frown fade slightly. It’s too valuable to her, so it’s got a value. That leaves room for bargaining so-  
“What if I could find you something more valuable?”  
Carey gives him a curious but doubtful look. “Don’t think you could, buddy.”  
“She’s right,” Killian says behind him and he turns to face her. “If you could do it, we’d give it to you but-I mean come on.” Waves her hands, “Merle was drinking from a bowl this morning. And fucking Tasha was crying in a heap on the floor! That’s the dream, Angus.”  
Angus doesn't know who Tasha is, but figures she's on the cooking staff. Still, he doesn't know that _anyone_ deserves a punishment like that.  
“Making Tasha cry?”  
“Well yeah, but the other thing too.”  
Angus hums, fixing his glasses. He walks over to his fallen journal and flips to a new page. _What’s more rewarding than chaos? What do they want more than they want to see Tasha suffer?_ He scribbles something in his notebook, scratches it out. He glances back up at Carey and Killian. They’re looking at each other in the gross, mushy, lovey-dovey way that adults do sometimes. He wrinkles his nose, then a thought hits him, like a lightbulb above his head slowly but steadily flickering to life.  
“What if,” he suggests, writing in his notebook. “I can get you guys a vacation?"  
The pair look at each other again. "That's basically unheard of, Ango," says Carey.  
Angus nods, considering the idea, "if anyone can do it, it's me ma'am."  
And he's right, and he's not bragging because his grandpa said not to do that. He's just good at what he does, and it just so happens that in this case, what he does is convince the Directer to give the regulators a break. And it's not like they don't deserve one. Carey sighs.   
"Fine. I'll give you the glasses if you get us a few days off, deal?"  
She sticks out her hand and Angus shakes it earnestly, toothy grin on his face.   
"Deal."  
Carey walks over to the dresser, pulls a key from her sleeve, and sticks it in the slot in the bottom drawer, twisting the key then tugging the drawer out to reveal rows upon rows of drinking glasses. She waves a hand over them.   
"All yours, kid."  
And Angus McDonald's grin widens, and he steps forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! if you enjoyed it, please leave a comment, ya girl needs validation  
> byeee :)


	2. Angus McDonald and the Writing on the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The writing burned on the wall may as well have been burned into his mind.  
>  L U P

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again! this one's pretty short but i hope you like it :)

The writing burned on the wall may as well have been burned into his mind.  
_L U P_  
He sees the letters when he closes his eyes, whenever his mind starts to fog away from the conversations he's having, when he's sitting alone in his room on his bed, and he's supposed to be asleep. It sits at the edge of his mind, making Angus itch all over. What does it mean? Is it a name, some sort of code? Angus doesn't know.  
Angus decidedly does not like not knowing.  
He pulls out a notebook, on his tip-toes, stretching to tug it off the top shelf. Grabs a pen too.  
The Director seems on edge. She's more frantic, more worried. She hides it well, behind a mask of indifference and professionalism, but Angus can tell, it's his job, he can _always_ tell. She wants to find the last few relics and the writing on the wall made her want them even more. _What is she hiding? What doesn't she want us to know?_  
She's smart, she knows how to hide things, knows how to tell when other people are. She's calculated and hyper-aware of every threat potentially posed. Paranoia pays off sometimes. Angus needs to be careful. He can't let anyone know, can't risk-well, he's not quite sure what.   
Angus is frustrated. Figuring things out is what he's good at, but this just seems like dead end after dead end. Something is missing and he doesn't know what. Whenever he thinks too hard, his thought fizzle off, he loses whatever idea he had just come across. It's like chasing a smoke, you reach out to grab it but it slips through the cracks between your fingers, dissipates into nothingness. It makes Angus want to scream. And it's curious. It's all very, very curious.   
Taako doesn't even seem all that worried that his staff has got a mind of its own, that it could've killed them. He just gave the wall a long, spaced-out look, like he was having a million thoughts all at once, then snapped back to reality and shrugged it off. And that makes Angus wary. He trusts him, of course he does, but it all just seems _wrong_. The pieces don't fit together quite right, there are holes in the picture, massive gaping holes, that keep everything from clicking back into place. Angus just can't figure out where they are.  
It's like his time before the Bureau all over again. Mysteries he can't solve because the clues don't exist, thoughts he can't finish because their tail ends have been removed from history. It's like the voidfish, like there's another voidfish in his brain, feeding off his ideas and-  
His thoughts turn to dust in his mind. What was he thinking about? _L U P_ , and the Director and the v-  
Angus holds the sides of his head, groaning in frustration. It doesn't add up. He _can't_ add it up. Something is stopping him. And he doesn't know why.  
But he knows that something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Something is being concealed and he doesn't know what and he doesn't know who's concealing it but he does know that.   
Angus McDonald has questions, unanswerable questions. But he's had questions like that before, and he solved those. And he doesn't plan to stop that record now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! if you did please leave a comment, they make my day :)  
> Byee


	3. Angus McDonald and the Base on the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's easy to be underestimated in this line of work if you're a ten-year-old boy. Angus knows this better than anyone.

It's easy to be underestimated in this line of work if you're a ten-year-old boy. Angus knows this better than anyone. People tend to overlook you if you're small, discount you. You don't even register as a threat in their mind. They slip up, say things, important things, detrimental and incriminating things, all because they don't think anyone is listening. But Angus McDonald is always listening.  
It's like being a shadow, no one pays you any mind, not even a second glance, you're there but not, because to them you don't matter, you don't even factor in. And Angus uses this to his advantage, collecting evidence, clues, hints-whatever he can find, all under the guise of the ignorance and naivety of childhood. He is discreet by nature, his own body in of itself is a disguise, a shield, that protects him and helps him do his job.  
This changes when he joins the Bureau of Balance.  
He starts living on the moon and he goes from being a shadow to being a ghost. As far as the world is concerned, he doesn't exist at all.  
This is not a _problem_.  
It sure does feel like one, though.  
Angus' stomach swirls and he pulls his knees tight to his chest. He's sat in the voidfish's chambers, right up by the glass, a book sitting at his side. He's staring up at it in its tank with the absent curiosity it always brings. The sprawling galaxies and stars shift and glitter before him, tentacles floating and tapping at the tank, light reflects off Angus' glasses as it hums. He chews his lip.  
He feels... _something_. He doesn't really know how to put a name to it, but it's like dread, it's little tendrils spreading out from the center of his chest, seeping out into the rest of his body and sticking to him like glue. And it's cold, it's like ice.   
It's almost like someone sucked all of his good feelings out and left him full of the bad ones, and Angus doesn't like it one bit.  
But he's had days like this before, days where he feels useless, days where he feels empty and stupid and invisible. Like he could scream at the top of his lungs and no one would hear him. He's just sort of see-through, detached. So he sits and he watches the voidfish hum little melodies and he ties to snap back into himself because if he can't be productive, he's useless, and if he's useless the Beaureu won't need him anymore and he _can't_ have that. There's nothing for him down below, nothing to go back to. He needs to prove that he's worth having around, and that leaves no room for error, no room for distraction.  
He hears light footsteps echo down the chamber behind him and the voidfish hums, but Angus doesn't turn to face the sound. He's not totally sure whoever comes in is going to see him, anyway. He's a ghost, after all. But then he hears his name.  
"Agnes?"  
Well- something adjacent to his name. He turns his head, and Taako stands beside him, elbow resting on his umbrastaff.   
Angus blinks for a moment, trying to jog his brain back into place.   
"Hello, sir," he says, but it doesn't sound right, and it feels wrong in his mouth. He forces a smile to attempt to sell the performance. Taako furrows his eyebrows.   
"What are you doing down here all alone, kiddo?" Taako asks, "solvin' mysteries?"  
Angus nods, "yes sir." he pulls his knees closer to his chest, and his eyes flit towards the blue light and hollow comfort of the voidfish. There's silence before anything else happens. Then Taako sits down next to Angus, looks up at the tank. And more silence.  
Taako finally cuts through the quiet after a moment. "This thing has always freaked me out a little. All that cshh cshh cshh staticky bullshit. How's that work? Do we know? Not really. 'S always seemed a little fishy to me." Takko chuckles a bit, "Hehe, get it? Fishy? It's a fish?"  
Angus eyes remained glued to the same spot."Yes sir," he mumbles. Taako glances at him and flips the umbrastaff over in his lap.   
"Can I let you in on a little secret? I think the ole' Voidfish here has a favorite. It likes Magnus way more than the rest of us and honestly? Rude. There's no accounting for taste, you feel?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"It's like, what does Mr. Boner man have over the rest of us? Why's the dumbass magic fish love him so much? Doesn't seem fair to me."  
"Yes sir."  
There's silence again, for a shorter stretch, but it's heavy nonetheless. The air in the chamber gets a little thicker, and Taako's ears twitch.  
"You okay, pumpkin? You seem a little spacey"  
Angus inhales sharply against his will. He wasn't anticipating such a direct question. Taako usually skirts around tough topics. Angus mentally berates himself. He needs to be more prepared. He's off his game and even if he wasn't, Taako is hard to nail down. he's not traditionally touchy-feely person. That's no excuse, though. There is no room for him to slip up.  
"Yes, sir," he says, but his voice is so flat he knows he's lost whatever game it is they're playing  
"Angus." Taako tears his gaze from the fish and rests it fully on Angus. Angus doesn't move, but he bites his lip hard enough to draw blood, and the sour taste of iron fills his mouth.  
"Sir?" Angus swallows as Taako looks at him still. He can practically see the gears turning in his head like he's thinking _hard_.   
"What's wrong, kiddo?" Taako asks, finally.  
Angus blinks. "Nothing." He says, a drag in his voice. It doesn't even sound a little bit convincing. Taako studies him for a second more, then promptly stands, and sticks out a hand to help Angus up.  
He stares at the hand in bewilderment. "Taako?" he says.  
Taako gives him a tiny grin, "c'mon buckaroo, Taako's feeling like hot chocolate at the moment and my hot chocolate is a delicacy best consumed with company."  
Angus hesitantly takes his hand and pulls himself to his feet, then scoops his book up off the floor and adjusts his glasses on his nose. "Okay, sir."  
Taako leads him out of the chambers to the elevator with a hand on his shoulder, and Angus just lets himself get pushed, trying not to drag his feet. He doesn't know what Taako's goal is with this, but he just feels tired, and hot chocolate sounds nice, so he trudges along.   
Before he knows it, he's in the kitchen of Taako, Merle, and Magnus' room, sitting in a stool by a counter and Taako is reading and rereading ingredients on labels so meticulously Angus briefly worries he's forgotten how to read. A voice in the back of his mind yells about that being curious, but Angus doesn't have the energy to solve anything right now, he just wants to sit and stare.   
Taako begins heating some milk, stirs it around with a wooden spoon, "so, Ango." He says, and Angus looks at him.  
"Sir?"  
Taako sets the spoon down, grabbing a mug and dumping something into it. "What's the deal kid, what's up with you? I'm not a thick as some people think I am, I'm smarter than I look."  
Angus nods, fiddling with his sleeve, "I know," he mumbles as Taako pours milk into a mug and slides it across the counter. Angus grabs it, lets the heat of the mug warm his hands, sees if it steadies them. Taako hops up onto the counter.  
"So what's eating at you?"  
Angus sighs, gripping the cocoa tighter. He doesn't want to complain. He's been through spells like this. Where he's full of wondering and thinking, saying nothing to anyone, just walking around aimlessly, almost invisible, waiting for someone to look at him or talk to him. They usually don't. But Angus doesn't want to feel ungrateful. Of course, he's grateful. Angus doesn't want to complain. He has no right.   
"I'm okay, Taako. Just... tired."  
Taako doesn't buy it for a second, that much is obvious, but seems to back off at least a little.  
"Okay Agnes, I'm not gonna push it. I respect your privacy or whatever. But if you're feeling bad, you should talk to someone, doesn't have to be me, but someone, okay?" He finds Angus' gaze and holds it.  
"Okay," he says sheepishly.  
"Yeah?"  
Angus nods and Taako seems to relax at that, popping a marshmallow in his mouth. "Good." he says, "so what about the hot chocolate. Good, right? I'm a chef, I'm sure you knew that already, with your little boy detective brain and all-"   
Taako keeps going. On and on and on about nothing and everything, as he does, and Angus listens attentively. He feels the heat against his hands, smells the chocolate in the air, hears Taako rambling beside him, and just for the moment, he feels a bit more solid, more present. He takes a breath and gives a smile. Tiny, but genuine. Then he sips his cocoa and lets the talking drown out the sound of his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! if you enjoyed it, please leave a comment, ya girl needs validation  
> byeee :)


End file.
